Wozza said:BBC award is not right for sad Clarke - Kevin Mitchell, The Observer.
Darren Clarke will win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award - for entirely the wrong reason.
A groundswell of sentiment for the Irishman after his part in Europe's Ryder Cup victory over the United States in Kildare last weekend owes its intensity to the recent death of his wife, Heather. And that is no reason to win an award that is supposed to be for sporting excellence.
The media-generated support for Clarke is mawkish and, perversely, an insult to his wife. She should be remembered for being his partner and the mother of his children, not part of what looks like turning into a Diana-style national sobfest.
Clarke, who has had an ordinary season overall, would lose nothing if he withdrew from the vote now before the bandwagon runs out of control. Indeed, he would be applauded. But he ought to do it not to be better regarded for sacrificing a gong but out of respect for his wife.
Word.
Kevin Mitchell knows what exactly, about the amount of respect Clarke has for his wife's memory. Mitchell can f*** right off - sanctimonious prick.
Clarke may very well feel that the public swell of support for him and what he has achieved in tremendously difficult circumstances is in fact some form of tribute to Heather's memory.
Clarke may feel like that. He may not. How he wishes to show his respect for his wife's memory is not up for Kevin Mitchell to decide.
****.
That is all.